"It's so hot..."
Feeling the heatwave, Luffy instinctively wiped the sweat from his face.
If this kept up, would he die of thirst here?
The thought of dying of thirst reminded Luffy of the time he fought Crocodile. That parched feeling was truly unpleasant.
"Letting it keep breathing fire from the sky isn't a solution either."
Zoro stared at the giant dragon in the sky, thought for a moment, and then said, "Can any of you help me knock it down from the air? I'll cut it down!"
As long as he could get close to that thing again, he was confident he could slice it apart with one strike!
"Leave it to me!" Meiser shouted.
With that, Meiser clapped his hands together and activated the Wood Release Technique without hesitation.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
"Hum~"
The next moment, the ground began to tremble violently, and an enormous wooden dragon burst forth from the earth!
"Roar?"
Seeing the wooden dragon suddenly emerge below, the giant dragon in the sky flashed a look of confusion in its eyes. What was this thing now?
A snake?
"Try this move properly, you big brute," Meiser grinned.
As his words fell, the wooden dragon swiftly charged into the air, aiming a bite directly at the giant dragon.
"Crunch~"
"Roar!"
The giant dragon, flapping its wings to dodge the attack, immediately grew furious. How dare this damned thing try to bite it?
How dare this bastard?
Thinking this, the giant dragon let out a roar, then opened its mouth, intending to incinerate the wooden dragon with its Flame Breath.
But unfortunately... Meiser didn't give it that chance.
"Get down here!" Meiser shouted.
As he spoke, the wooden dragon surged even higher, then bent its body and whipped its tail upward, striking the giant dragon squarely in its flank.
"Thud!"
The heavy impact made the giant dragon's eyes bulge out in pain, and it let out a piercing shriek.
"Screech!!"
Then, the colossal creature plummeted toward the distant ground like a cannonball, smashing a huge crater into the earth.
"Boom!!"
"Well done!" Zoro yelled.
With that, Zoro quickly dashed toward where the dragon had fallen, clearly not planning to give it another chance to take flight.
Meanwhile, Nico Robin looked at Meiser's wooden dragon in astonishment and said, "Is your wooden dragon really that fire-resistant?"
In her view, Meiser's wooden dragon had landed in a burning residential area, yet it hadn't been ignited by the flames there!
That was truly astonishing.
After all, fire was supposed to be wood's natural weakness!
"My Wood Release isn't made of ordinary wood," Meiser replied with a smile.
The Wood Release Technique, formed by the transformation of water and earth attribute Chakra, possessed remarkably high fire resistance. Coupled with its inherent powerful vitality... it wasn't afraid of ordinary flames like these.
"Not ordinary wood, huh."
Nico Robin was momentarily stunned, then, as if she understood something, her eyes lit up with sudden realization.
Indeed, Meiser's Wood Dragon was a product created through Ninjutsu, a special existence, so it was only natural for it to have such an effect.
Thinking this, Nico Robin nodded firmly, as if agreeing with her own thoughts.
"Let's not worry about the wood for now. The top priority is to take down that giant dragon!" Usopp shouted.
As he spoke, he also took out his slingshot, clearly intending to see if he could lend a hand.
Just at that moment, the giant dragon that had fallen into the pit regained consciousness.
Then, the massive creature let out an angry roar.
"ROAR!!"
The sound alone made it clear it had been provoked.
"Heh, quite spirited, aren't you?" Zoro sneered. "Let me..."
Before Zoro could finish his sentence, he noticed the large pit in front of him suddenly turning red, causing his expression to change.
As if understanding something, Zoro leaped backward without hesitation.
The next moment...
"WHOOSH!!"
A terrifying burst of flames shot out from the pit, heading straight for the spot where Zoro had just been standing.
"BOOM!!"
With a single strike, the ground where Zoro had stood was completely destroyed.
"Swish~"
"Clack~"
Landing steadily on the ground, Zoro frowned and looked at the spot he had just vacated. "That's some terrifying fire."
"Zoro, are you alright?" Merry, flying in the air, called out.
"I'm fine."
Zoro replied without turning his head. "The flames didn't touch me."
He had dodged in time, so the flames hadn't harmed him.
Hearing this, Merry sighed in relief. "That's good."
"We need to find a way to keep this guy on the ground," Usopp shouted. "Otherwise, he'll just take to the skies again."
Hearing Usopp's words, Luffy immediately grinned. "Leave it to me!"
With that, Luffy strode toward the pit, clearly intending to attack the dragon's wings to deprive it of its ability to fly.
"Luffy, that won't be necessary," Meiser said.
"Why?"
Luffy stopped in his tracks and looked at Meiser in confusion. What did he mean, it wasn't necessary?
"Because I already damaged its wings earlier," Meiser said with a slight smile.
His earlier attack wasn't just meant to knock the dragon out of the sky—more importantly, it was to rob it of its ability to fly!
That way... this massive creature wouldn't be able to take to the skies again!
"So you already damaged them, huh."
Luffy scratched his head. In that case, there really was no need for him to step in.
Usopp, meanwhile, gave Meiser a thumbs-up. "As expected of you!"
His planning was truly meticulous!
In response, Meiser simply smiled and said nothing more.
"No wonder this guy hasn't flown out yet—he has no wings," Zoro said with a smirk.
That made things easier.
Then, Zoro prepared to go over and finish the creature off.
But before he could take more than a few steps, an enormous claw emerged from the pit, slamming heavily onto the ground.
Moments later, the massive creature crawled out of the pit.
"ROAR!!"
After roaring at the sky, the creature fixed its gaze on Meiser's face.
Its eyes seemed to say: How dare you damage my wings... you insignificant insect, you've angered me!
"Try this move." Zoro, with his hand on his sword hilt, said sharply, "One-Sword Style: Iaido!"
Hearing Zoro's voice, the dragon instinctively turned its gaze toward him, clearly sensing a deadly threat.
At that moment, it understood one thing: this human posed a greater danger!
Thinking this, the dragon lunged to bite Zoro.
Seeing this, Zoro sneered and swiftly vanished from his spot.
When he reappeared, he was already behind the dragon.
"Death: Lion's Song!"
As if sensing something, a flicker of terror immediately appeared in the dragon's eyes.
Its neck was... about to be severed?
The next moment...
"Thwack!"
The sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh echoed, and the dragon's head flew right off.
Witnessing this, Usopp excitedly shouted, "So awesome, Zoro!"
To cut down a dragon with teeth bigger than a person in a single strike... that's just too strong!
Meanwhile, Meiser stroked his chin and said, "So this is Zoro's current strength."
He really is quite impressive.
"Hey, everyone!"
Luffy excitedly looked at the enormous dragon before them and said, "Let's eat this guy! It looks really tasty!"
Hearing this, Merry's eyes lit up. She had never eaten dragon meat before and wondered how it would taste.
At the thought, a bit of drool uncontrollably trickled from the corner of Merry's mouth.
Why did this creature suddenly seem so appetizing?
"Eat?"
A question mark instantly popped up over Usopp's head. Could a creature that only existed in legends really be eaten?
What if it's poisonous?!
Thinking this, Usopp quickly said, "Hey, Luffy, Meiser just said this thing is a legendary dragon. It might not be edible."
He didn't want anyone to die from poisoning after eating its meat.
"..."
Hearing this, Luffy's face fell. "It can't be eaten..."
"But it looks so delicious."
As he spoke, some drool also dripped from Luffy's mouth, making Usopp's eyelid twitch.
Just how much does this guy love meat, damn it!
"Hey, Meiser." Zoro, having sheathed his sword, turned to Meiser and asked, "Is this thing really inedible?"
He had been thinking about whether he could grill some dragon meat over the island's fire to go with his drink, but now it turns out it can't be eaten?
That's just too disappointing.
Hearing this, Merry also blinked her big eyes at Meiser, clearly wanting to know if it was edible.
Facing his companions' gazes, Meiser stroked his chin thoughtfully before saying, "Although this thing can breathe fire, it doesn't seem like the Magic Dragon I imagined, so it should be edible."
After a pause, he continued, "Of course, we can't rule out that there might be something wrong with its meat."
Luffy, who had brightened up at Meiser's first sentence, now looked crestfallen again.
"So, it still can't be eaten?"
"Not exactly." Meiser said, "Let's try grilling it. I'll eat it first after it's cooked. If there's a problem, I'll notice it in time."
Hearing this, everyone immediately understood what Meiser meant.
This guy has an undying body, so there's no need to fear whether this thing is problematic or not.
Thinking this, Zoro nodded and said, "Then let's do it that way."
With that, Zoro picked up his long sword and walked toward the giant dragon, clearly intending to cut off a few pieces of the tastiest meat.
But before he could act, he noticed something strange on the dragon's body.
"Hmm?"
After staring at the dragon's back for a while, Zoro raised his hand and pointed at the human lower half, saying, "Hey, is there a person on this guy's back?"
At these words, everyone was stunned.
Then, they noticed the person Zoro was pointing at.
"A person..." Meiser looked at the still-moving lower half, his lips twitching as he said, "Should be half a person, right?"
Why is it that this guy can still move even though only his lower half remains?
Is he a Devil Fruit Ability User?
Or is his upper half inside the dragon's body?
"It really is half a person."
Usopp, with his sharp eyes, stared at the lower half on the dragon's body and said, "What's going on here?"
"Not sure..."
"What we heard earlier... Could it have been this guy speaking?" Merry spoke up.
Hearing Merry's words, the expressions of the others turned somewhat strange.
It wasn't impossible.
"But that's not right either," Usopp widened his eyes and said, "This guy is just a lower half—how can he speak?"
Even ventriloquism requires an upper half, okay.
At that moment, the lower half spoke again.
"I sense your presence! Who are you?!"
Everyone: !!
"It really is this guy speaking!"
Looking at the constantly wriggling lower half, Usopp was dumbfounded.
What kind of bizarre and eerie thing is this?
Could it be they've entered another place like Thriller Bark?
Thinking this, Usopp glanced around, afraid something strange might pop out.
"So..." Zoro's lips twitched as he said, "What exactly is this thing?"
Could it be... this is the dragon's true form?
But that thought was immediately dismissed by Zoro, as it was absolutely impossible.
After all... the aura this dragon had earlier and this guy's aura were not the same type!
So this guy couldn't be the dragon's true form.
"His upper half must have pierced into the dragon's body," Nico Robin speculated.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why only his lower half was left outside.
"Hmm, that's possible," Meiser nodded and said.
As for how the other party pierced into it, he had no idea.
"Never mind, let's pull him out first!" Luffy grinned and said, "We can ask what happened afterward."
With that, Luffy strode toward Kin'emon's lower half.
After arriving nearby, Luffy placed his hands on it and said, "I don't know who you are, but I'll help pull you out now!"
As he spoke, Luffy's hands began to exert force.
Feeling the force, Kin'emon's lower half immediately began to struggle.
"Who are you?!" Kin'emon's lower half said. "What are you doing?"
"Let go of me right now!"
"Hey!!"
Luffy, who had been kicked, widened his eyes and said, "I'm trying to help you get off the dragon right now, so don't move around!"
With that, Luffy increased his strength, intending to pull this strange fellow off the dragon as quickly as possible.
Seeing this, Usopp remarked, "This scene is really bizarre."
"And... how did this guy manage to embed himself perfectly into the dragon's body?"
Is this guy even human?
This is so absurd.
"It is indeed a bit strange," Nico Robin said. "Not only did he embed himself into the dragon's body, but he can still speak normally..."
"Doesn't he feel out of breath?"
Could he suffocate if he talks too much?
As if imagining some strange scenario, Nico Robin's eyes lit up a little.
Seeing this, Meiser twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "I feel like you're thinking of something weird."
In response, Nico Robin just smiled and said nothing more.
"Could he be some kind of Ability User?" Merry suddenly suggested.
"We'll find out once Luffy pulls him out," Meiser said.
There's no point in guessing blindly now, so let's just wait.
Hearing this, Merry nodded to show she understood.
Just then, Luffy successfully pulled out the lower half of Kin'emon's body!
"Pop~"
After pulling him out, Luffy fell to the ground, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "Finally got this weird guy out. He was really stuck tight..."
With that, Luffy was about to get up and ask the guy what was going on.
But before he could move, he heard Usopp and Merry behind him let out terrified screams.
"Ah!!"
"It's... it's gone!"
"What's gone?" Luffy asked, confused, looking at the two.
"The upper half..."
Usopp shakily raised his finger and pointed at Kin'emon's lower half, saying, "His upper half is missing..."
Hearing this, Luffy froze for a moment, then turned to look at Kin'emon's lower half.
When he saw what was happening, his expression turned to horror.
"It's... it's gone?!"
"Did I tear off his upper half?"
"I'm sorry!!"
"I'm sorry!!"
"You idiot, do you think apologizing will fix this?" Usopp yelled, grabbing his head. "You killed him!"
Meanwhile, Merry grabbed Meiser's arm and shouted, "This guy died so tragically!"
"Ah!!"
"Ah!!"
"All of you, calm down!" Meiser said, feeling a headache coming on.
This guy didn't even shed a drop of blood—how could he have been torn apart by Luffy?
He was clearly like this from the start.
"But Meiser, I tore him apart..." Luffy cried, looking at Meiser. "I killed him..."
Seeing Luffy's expression, Meiser sighed helplessly. What should he say to him?
Shaking his head, Meiser pointed at the dragon and Kin'emon's lower half in front of them and said, "Haven't you noticed there's no blood on the dragon or on him?"
Hearing Meiser's words, everyone finally realized and turned their attention to where Meiser had pointed.
"It's true... there really is no blood."
"What's going on here?"
"It is indeed a bit strange." Nico Robin approached the giant dragon and said, "It looks as if this person's lower body is embedded in the dragon's body."
"But he was alive just now." Usopp said, "And he could even speak..."
"Then I don't know what's going on." Nico Robin shook her head and said.
She could only tell that this guy and the dragon were not one entity, but she didn't know the specifics.
"If that's the case, is he really the dragon's..."
Before Zoro could finish his sentence, he noticed the lower half lying on the ground suddenly move.
"Damn it, I've finally broken free from the restraints!" Kin'emon's lower half shouted.
"?!"
"!!"
"The lower half is alive!!"